Pillars
by MeroNoir
Summary: A war has spread across the Fiore Kingdom. Separated, Lucy, Gray and some others stay behind in Magnolia to aid refugees and contain aggressors while the others fight in the front lines. Lucy worries for them, and Gray lends her his strength.


It had been several months. The thick raindrops splash upon the wreckage that used to be their beloved guild, Fairy Tail. Lucy stares at the broken beams, seeming to collapse at any second. When she thinks back about it, Magnolia was crushed too fast. Hell, all of Fiore seemed to be crushed in a second. Entire war has rapidly spread across the Kingdom. Dark guilds merged together, to destroy the kingdom, and build a new realm from Fiore's ashes. Of course, the legal guilds merged as well, to rise against the agony the aggressor spread. The guilds fought for whatever was left in Era, where the Magic Council was located. It was the only place that was still intact, not overcharged with ruins, corruption and pain. Magnolia, hometown of former Fairy Tail, was nothing more but ruins.

Many wizards had relocated themselves in Era, so did Natsu, Erza, Laxus, Mirajane and many more wizards from other guilds. Many had lost their lifes as well. Lucy was one of the few Fairy Tail members who stayed in Magnolia, to keep watch on incoming forces, and to bring shelter to any civilians who had yet to find refugee in Era. Together with Gray, Elfman and Max, they were to make sure no assailant moved in on Magnolia, and that the survivors could pass through. Right now, Lucy had some time off, she was actually to use to rest, and decided to go through her thoughts in Fairy Tail's ruins.

Many thoughts crossed her mind. _Were they to win the war? And what would happen if they lost? Were Erza, Natsu and the others still alive?_ All these questions worried Lucy greatly. She was scared for them, though she tried not to hide it, since she believed in them. She squeezed her arms, fearing the worst, almost breaking down in her own fear.

"Hey" The voice was familiar, it had been her "former" teammate's. Of course, they were still teammates, but the war had butchered all quests immediately, and made fighting for Fiore the only thing that mattered.

"Hey Gray." she said, her voice shaky.

"Are you okay? You just missed out on lunch" Gray said as he approached her. Lunch. That's how they called it, but it was actually some scraps of food, raked together. It was hard to come by food these days. Not to mention medicine, or any luxury products. Everyone had thinned down a lot, and sometimes Lucy wondered how Natsu and Erza managed themselves, since they were fighting all day. She received letters from Erza every now and then, updating them on Era's status, and every letter seemed to get shorter.

"I'm not hungry." she replied absently. Gray sighed, and said down next to Lucy, putting a hand on her shoulder. Though he was an ice-mage, his hand was surprisingly warm. "I know this is hard, but you shouldn't give up on our friends. They're strong, you know that." Gray attempted to relief her. "I know! But…" Lucy trusted in her friends more than she did in herself, but she couldn't stop but fear for their fates. "what if something happens? We're not there to help them." her voice got softer as she proceeded her sentence.

Gray sighed. "They'll be okay, Lucy. _At least we can protect each othe_r" His last sentence was muffled by a cough, and Lucy couldn't hear what he said. "Sorry, what did you say?" Gray turned his face away, so Lucy couldn't examine his expression. "Never mind" he said with another cough. What Lucy couldn't see, was Gray's flushed face.

"Anyway, let's go back to our main base" Lucy said as the rain ceased. She stood up with Gray to follow her, and they strode back to their patched-together-settlement, which remained close to the borders of Magnolia. It wasn't perfect, and the building had a lot of holes, making it extra cold at night, but it was okay for the time being. Gray didn't mind the cold, of course, but for Lucy, she missed her warm, comfy bed. They entered the base. Max and Elfman greeted them, handing Lucy her deal of the food scraps.

Lucy kept her watch, and after several hours, it was time to sleep. She fell asleep quickly, only to be awaken several hours later. The cold was rude enough to disturb her from her rest, and not only that. Lucy had a nightmare, in which everyone in Era perished, and she could only watch as their bodies burned. She got up, rubbed in her eyes which contained some moisture, stretched out, and walked outside, which wasn't much colder than inside of their settlement. She strode to Gray, who was keeping watch at the moment. Although, he had taken the time to rest a bit too. He snored, which basically alarmed any possible incoming aggressor within fifty meters. "Hey Gray!" she exclaimed, as hard as Gray was snoring.

Gray jumped out of his chair, performing an Ice Make Lance. It took him a moment to notice there wasn't anyone attacking him. "Oh. Lucy, you here?" he said groggily. Lucy took a seat next to him.

"Couldn't sleep?" Gray asked, soon followed by a yawn. She shook her head, acknowledging what Gray said. "I can't help but worry about Natsu and the others. I wish we were there too, so we could do something, if something may happen." Gray nodded at her statement. "I know how you feel, but the only way to help them is to keep watch here–" Lucy interrupted him "What if that's not enough? What if they die, and all we do is sitting here all day, watching if enemies or surviviors are coming in–"

"Lucy, stop." Gray had stood up and held Lucy on both her shoulders. "Maybe we can't do anything for them…" he hesitated, as though weighing the significance of his next words.

_"__We can protect each other"_


End file.
